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El Salvador Metapán Los Caleros

Metapán, Santa Ana, El Salvador

Los Caleros’s farmers live near the northern border of El Salvador. Meaning “people of the limestone,” and inspired by the landscape, their name could just as well describe the solid character of the coffee and its producers. This particular coffee comes from 30 farmers who process their small harvests in personal micro-mills. Its brilliance derives not just from meticulous washing and terroir, but also from owner Alejandro Valiente—one of the most inspiring people in coffee we know. Alejandro meticulously works to improve his operation year after year, paying close attention to the livelihoods of his neighboring farmers in Metapán.
In 1836, over a cup of coffee, botanist Charles François Antoine Morren conceived of hand-pollinating the vanilla orchid. The discovery was not unlike tapping a tree for syrup or cracking a shell to find a nut. Just imagine the inspiration Los Caleros could bring.